Being the amazing, true-to-life adventures and (very likely) misadventures of a writer who seeks to take his education, activism and seemingly boundless energy to North Minneapolis, (NoMi) to help with a process of turning a rapidly revitalizing neighborhood into something approaching Urban Utopia. I am here to be near my child. From 02/08 to 06/15 this blog pushed free speech to the envelope, so others could take heart and speak unafraid. Email me at hoffjohnw@gmail.com

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Share about your favorite NoMi businesses here

I'd like to use one of my guest blogging posts to commit a sort of public service, a little publicity for some of the readers favorite businesses located around NoMi. Some businesses are prominent and well-known, frequented by many. But NoMi has a fair amount of obscure, hole in the wall businesses that probably have little to no advertising budget and, well, frankly might not look like much from the outside but hold treasures on the inside.

For example, the Asian market that is on the southwest corner of Broadway and 26th Ave N is called Amazing Oriental, and it is a gem of a store, perhaps you might even call it amazing. From the outside it doesn't look like much. I have never experienced myself, but have heard that they have a menu and sit down tables in there for a quick meal. Can anyone confirm this?

Another one of my favorite businesses, and it's not much of a secret or hidden treasure, is Northend Hardware. Most northsiders know about the great service, wide selection and good rental department, but just in case you aren't familiar, I highly recommend heading to Northend for your next home project or hardware needs. Darryl, the owner, and John, the manager are two of the nicest guys that truly give a small town feel to the store. Read some great reviews here and do plan ahead because since it is a somewhat small business with a small staff, they do shut down and close the shop - they don't stay open round the clock like some big box stores - but it's worth the planning and worth supporting this northside treasure.

So please do use the comment section and tell all of us about your northside favorites. Use this blog as a little free publicity and spread the word!

5 comments:

MeganG.
said...

I wanted to build a patio in my backyard, pavers into the ground. I rented a power compactor from Northend - it was awesome. There are a lot of power tools and thing available to rent to get your projects done.

The Amazing Oriental store is a real gem, and the restaurant food is divine and affordable. When I was executive director of the Jordan Area Community Council, I used to meet there once a month for lunch with the executive director of the Hawthorne Area Community Council, who was Hmong. A number of collaborative efforts grew out of those lunches, and I learned a lot about Hmong food, especially "sticky rice." I highly recommend this store and its restaurant. I haven't eaten there in a while, so I'd be interested to hear about others' experiences.

Also a great place to eat is the "Good Deal Restaurant" on Lowry in the vicinity of James Ave. Their spring rolls are awesome.